24/7 society a must

 

The time is ripe for Barbados to become a 24/7 society.
 
That’s the view of Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss. Leading off the debate on the Holidays with Pay Bill and the Labour Department (Amendment) Bill in the Lower House yesterday morning, an adamant Minister Inniss said that in this 21st century, the days of considering a normal work day being from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. must quickly become a thing of the past. He contended that if both the public and private sectors employed staggered work hours, Barbados would become a far more dynamic and productive society.
 
“The world is not waiting on Barbados. If we are to truly become a much more productive society; if we are truly to become a society that fully engages in a dynamic world; if we are truly to become significant exporters of goods and services; if we are to benefit from the transfer of technology; if we are really serious about helping our young people to achieve their full potential, then Barbados and Barbadians must stop believing that work ends at four in the afternoon,” he maintained.
 
He noted that there are several entities like the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Royal Barbados Police Force and hotels that operate on a 24-hour basis, but he contends that others within the public and private sectors need to follow suit and with a “greater sense of urgency”. 
 
 
His comments came as he referred to the arguments often put forward about the need for 24/7 day care facilities and public bus service should the country go this route, but he dismissed those arguments as simply “the thinking that can only be informed by those who refuse to step out of the 20th century”.
 
“The reality about it is that once you have more flexible work arrangements and longer opening hours for some establishments within our jurisdiction, that they create opportunities in themselves. Opportunities for one partner to be at home during the day to look after the child and the other one to be at work; and then you reverse the roles accordingly,” he said.
 
The Industry and Commerce Minister said to move Barbados in that direction would also require more State entities to get on board, and become more flexible in their hours of work. In fact, he maintained that there some Government departments that are suited to open 12 hours daily from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Moreover, he said the country needs to not only focus on the “brick and mortar solutions”, but also giving persons access to businesses and Government entities through the use of technology.
 
“A 24/7 society also means that we have rapid deployment on a sustainable basis of technology. Much more in Barbados needs to be done online, real time… It amazes me when I reflect upon the statistics from the National Telecommunications Union that shows that in terms of connectivity, access to technology, Internet etc, Barbados is number three in the Western Hemisphere after the US of A and Canada, and yet still we are quite a bit behind when it comes to the effective use of such technology,” he said.
 
Inniss lamented that while the infrastructure to allow Barbados to move rapidly along the “information superhighway highway” is in place, we are failing to use the technology to increase productivity in this economy and society. Minister Inniss insists that this has to change. (JRT)

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